Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Alucraft Systems, Ireland's leading designer, manufacturer and installer of architectural glazing systems, has acquired certain assets of Façade and Glazing Solutions (FGS) Limited, including its fabrication facility in Rotherham.

Earlier this month FGS called in administrators.

Previously known as Glassolutions as part of a French multinational, FGS specialised in conception, engineering and installation of glazed façades and building envelopes. Employing hundreds of staff, it rebranded from Sologlas in 2012 and brought together three separate operating divisions into its 65,000 sq ft premises at Manvers in Rotherham in 2011.

With offices and manufacturing facilities in Dublin and Tamworth, Allucraft has secured a deal for the facility and its assets after working with the former employees and administrator.

Alucraft said that it plans to reopen the FGS facility with an initial 19 employees. The ambition is to expand the workforce as Alucraft Group secures new work.

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The group, which has completed projects for Amazon, Lidl and LinkedIn, said that the addition of the newly acquired FGS facility will support its ambitious growth plans and provide a significant additional increased aluminum fabrication capacity.

Alucraft plans to further increase this capacity during 2020, to support the Group's existing operations. Overall, the aim is for the facility to become a centre of excellence for unitised façade fabrication alongside other fabrication activities. Furthermore, in addition to working on Alucraft's projects across the UK and Ireland, the facility will be made available to third parties on commercial terms.

TFounded in 1975, Alucraft was acquired by Elaghmore Partners, a UK-based private equity firm, in 2018.

John Foster, commercial director at Alucraft Systems, said: "This is a decisive and positive step for Alucraft. This sends a very strong message to the construction industry. We have added a fantastic facility, which will increase our operational capacity, allowing us to deliver larger and more complex projects. It will also create additional employment opportunities in the area.

"We have ambitious plans for the business, and are providing much needed capacity for façade design, engineering, manufacturing and construction in the UK. The combination of Alucraft and EAG builds our position as a market leader. We will continuously strive to innovate and improve our capabilities through collaboration across the Group, our customers and the wider market."